Monday, July 22, 2013

As Rates Rise, Your Costs DO Too!

Well, it may seem obvious, but many folks don't stop to think of the effect of rising mortgage rates on their purchases. If rates rise, so too does the cost of borrowing. If you had a chance to buy a home one month ago but didn’t get your financing in order until this week, you’ll pay hundreds of dollars more in monthly interest payments for the life of your mortgage because of the delay. And the longer you wait, the more you’ll pay. The economics of today’s real estate market make it clear that those homebuyers who are able to afford a house today could save many hundreds of dollars each month by locking in low interest rates as soon as possible. Read more at http://bit.ly/1aRM0Ao
If you put it in terms of the stated life of your loan,. those hundreds of extra Dollars each month likely will add up to tens of thousands of Dollars over the life of your loan.
The moral of the story: if you're thinking of buying, get your ducks in a row NOW! Even if you haven't located "the House", get going on your financing so that when you do find it, you'll be all set and not ruing your delay.
Need help? Call us: Peter: (415) 279-6466; Jane: (415) 531-4091.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Rates Move & Affect Buyers/Sellers

As we said last week, mortgage rates have taken a very sudden major turn upwards. This definitely will affect BOTH buyers and sellers. This is because this makes money more costly to borrow. Well, since the surge occurred, over a week ago, the markets have backtracked slightly. After jumping over a full percentage point, they came back not quite 2/10 of a percent this past week. So,. this will also affect the markets. However, let's make one thing perfectly clear. Rates are generally trending up. They may moderate and fluctuate from here on out, but you can be almost certain that by the end of 2013 they will be higher than they were at the end of 2012, and possibly a bit higher than their present level, although not by a huge amount.
For buyers this means only one thing--borrowing will get more expensive than it is now. So, if you've delayed looking for the home of your dreams (or a good investment property), stop wasting your time and start looking! Every quarter percent rise will add hundreds if not thousands to your monthly nut.
If you're a seller, the rise has importance for you as well. The longer you wait, the more costly it will become for buyers to pay your reasonable price for your home. They may have to bid lower across the board, or drop out all together! What to do? Get your house ready for the market and get it priced (by us) and get it on the market. Questions about buying or selling? About how to prep your home to sell, or what it's worth? CALL US: Peter: (415 279-6466; Jane; (415) 531-4091. We'd be happy to help.